Australian special forces troops alight from an American CH46 (Sea Knight) after completing a successful surveillance mission in southern Afghanistan as part of Australia's commitment to the coalition against terrorism. Defence Department photograph

FOR the first time since Australian special forces deployed in Afghanistan as part of the war against terrorism, soldiers have spoken about operations in the devastated country.

Brig Gary Bornholt, PACC, recently released the information at a press conference in Canberra.

One soldier, currently serving in Afghanistan, said the logistics chain was working well.

"We have been provided with what we need, when we need it," he said.

"[But] the irony of operations in the 21st century is that we have access to the Internet but no access to showers - water is harder to come by than satellite communications."

He said water was a particularly scarce commodity and had to be flown in regularly, while food was in the form of hard rations.

Another soldier said the reaction of local people was mixed.

"Many people wave and smile, while the odd one will look at you and spit onto the ground," he said.

"On one particular operation we were forced to move through a large village with several thousand inhabitants.

"We would have gone around it, but the terrain at that location prevented this.

"The village was a labyrinth and there was always doubt about who might present a threat and who was friendly."

He said the soldiers knew Afghanistan was heavily mined.

"Our training has equipped us to minimise the risk, however, we realises it is an ever-present danger."

Another soldier said the support many troops were receiving from their family and friends in Australia was much appreciated.

"News from loved ones is very important and those little luxuries, like jack rations, help to offset the rather Spartan environment."

Another SASR soldier said temperatures in the Kandahar region fell rapidly to near zero at night, which had proven to be a vast change to normal working conditions in Australia.

Brig Bornholt said extreme windchill was a common factor our soldiers were combating while conducting operations, many taking place in freezing conditions.

He said the soldiers believed the clothing and equipment issued to them had been hugely successful in challenging the severe weather conditions and had been readily available.

By Pte Alisha Carr